11 to contend for 7 school board seats

The filing period for candidates in April’s school board elections closed Monday, and Evanston voters will have choices to make for both local school boards.

Two incumbents and three challengers are seeking three positions on the District 65 board.

• Sergio Hernandez Jr., of 1400 Kirk St, is the current school board president. He was appointed to the board in January 2017 to fill a vacancy and was elected to his first full term in 2019. He’s a former director of family and community engagement for the state board of education and is on the board of the Youth Job Center. Hernandez initially filed his petitions at 8 a.m. Dec. 12 — the start of the filing period. But he withdrew those petitions and filed a new set Monday, on the last day for filing petitions.
• John Matthew Martin, 40, lives at 2335 Hastings Ave. in the 6th Ward.
• Ndona Muboyayi, of 2111 Emerson St., finished sixth among eight candidates seeking election to the District 65 board in 2021. She has been active on the district’s Bilingual Parent Advisory Council and has advocated for reparations programs in Evanston.
• Omar G. Salem, of 2005 Maple Ave. is issues director with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and an English teacher at Niles North High School. He has a master’s degree from National Louis University and is pursuing an MBA at Concordia University. He’s a member of the City of Evanston’s Equity and Empowerment Commission and a real estate agent. Salem was one of 13 people who applied in September to fill the board vacancy created by the resignation of Marquese Weatherspoon.
• Mya Wilkins, of 8625 Central Park Ave. in Skokie, the executive director of marketing at Chase Bank, was appointed in October to fill a board vacancy created by the resignation of Anya Tanyavutti. She has an MBA from Northwestern University.

Four incumbents and two newcomers have filed for four positions on the Evanston Township High School board.

• Mirah Anti, of 1003 Hinman Ave., was appointed to the board in June 2021 after only three candidates ran in that year’s election for four positions on the board. She is the director of equity and inclusion for Highland Park and Deerfield high Schools.
• Monique Parsons, of 8710 Trumbull Ave., in Skokie, president and CEO of the McGaw YMCA, was first elected to the board in 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota.
• Leah Piekarz, of 9027 Lincolnwood Drive, a retired counselor at ETHS, is seeking her first term on the board. She holds master’s degrees in education from the University of Illinois Chicago and Northern Illinois University.
• Elizabeth Rolewicz, of 1206 Cleveland St., a self-employed photographer and graphic designer, was first elected to the board in 2019.
• Kristen Scotti, of 929 Forest Ave., who holds Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University, is making her first run for the board. She is the parent of an ETHS student and has advocated for changes in the school’s attendance policy.
• Stephanie Teterycz, of 1222 Cleveland St., director of operations for a research lab at Northwestern University, was first elected to the board in 2019.